Here With Me
by Tracy Space Cowgirl
Summary: A Rosville story- Smallville/Roswell Crossover. What seems like the end of the road for one character is just the beginning of journey, of a destiny.


Here With Me

By Tracy (biancaheart@yahoo.com)

Rating: PG-13

Category: Rosville- Smallville/Roswell crossover.

Spoilers:  Roswell finale, Smallville season 1, especially "Tempest" or "No Warning"

Summary:  When the show ends, the story just begins.  

Disclaimer:  Don't own Roswell.  Don't own Smallville.  Don't own anything.  And I pretty much suck at writing disclaimers.

Her head hurt.

She was lucky that was the only thing hurting her.  She could be- she should be dead.    If it wasn't for Clark…she would be.

She'd only bumped her head.

She kept her life and gained a migraine.  

People had died.

The tornadoes- it was the second worst disaster in Smallville history- second only to the meteor shower.  It had taken two weeks or so for things to start to return to normal—although normal was a funny word, one that really didn't fit…but the television reporters were packing up; some of the aid stations had consolidated, and yesterday they'd held the last funeral.

Her picture had been in Time magazine again- a picture of her in the hospital, her head all bandaged, right next to that picture from the first time.

Obviously the whole of America viewed her as a tragic figure.

Advil.  She needed Advil.  Lana laid her worn copy of Wuthering Heights down on the bench and headed inside.

The Advil wasn't in the usual drawer.

"Nell?  Have you seen the Advil?"

Nell didn't answer.

Lana ventured further into the house, into the living room.

Nell was sitting on the couch, next to Mrs. Fordman…that was…

Mrs. Fordman was crying.  Lana froze for a second.  What was wrong?  She was probably just missing Mr. Fordman, or Whitney…everything was okay, it had to be okay.  She just probably found something cleaning that had upset her, and she'd come to Nell for support.  That was it.   It HAD to be it.

"Is everything okay?"

  
Two pairs of eyes shifted towards her. 

"Lana, should sit down."  Nell said, getting up and guiding Lana to the couch, letting her take a seat next to Mrs. Fordman.  

"What…what's wrong?"

Mrs. Fordman turned to Lana, and took one of Lana's hand and squeezed it tight.

"Lana, honey…Whitney missed basic training because of the twisters…and so they sent him off to a boot camp in California …so he rented a car….I got a call yesterday…he…he never showed up…and this morning…they found his rental car…burnt…an accident…"

No.  It couldn't be…..no……her head spun.  This couldn't be true…Whitney was a Marine, he wasn't…

"No"

"I know…"  Mrs. Fordman began to cry again.  

"This…just….NO!"  Lana exploded, pulling away from Mrs. Fordman.  She ran out of the room, ran out of the house, she ran as far as she could run.

Maybe, if she could run far enough, Whitney would be alive.

***

"Got any fives?"

Chloe shook her head vigorously.  "Go fish, Kent."

Clark sighed and pulled a card from the pile.  "Another Three?"  He looked sheepishly over at Chloe.  "I shouldn't have said that, should I?"

Chloe smiled sweetly.  "Got any threes?"

Clark pulled out two cards and handed them to Chloe.  "You're a monster at cards."

"I'm just good at cards.  And you aren't."

A slight knock came from the stairs at the side of Clark's fortress.  The two teenagers whipped around.  Mrs. Kent stood there, a somber look on her face.

"Clark…Chloe…Lana's Aunt just called."

"Is everything okay?"

She shook her head silently.  "W---Uh,  Whitney Fordman never made it to training…they found his car…or the remains of his car…."

Clark and Chloe both dropped their cards, each spreading out over the fortress floor.

Chloe spoke first.  "Whit…Whitney's dead?"

"Lana…Lana ran away after she found out the news…Nell is worried, and she thought that maybe….maybe you could find her?"

Clark jumped up.  "I have an idea where she might be."

"I'll go with you."  Chloe volunteered.

***

"I just can't believe it."  Chloe muttered as they walked across the fields.  "I mean…it's just like people…people our age…it's scary to think that people our age can just…die."

"The world's changing, Chloe.  After September, it's just not the same world that it used to be.  I can't believe that's Whitney's dead…and I'm still trying to fix my mind around the fact that he just up and left, right before graduation and all…I mean, but he joined the military…and he could have died then…"

"I…I can't get used to it Clark.  It's just…It's just not…"  Chloe broke down in tears.

Clark stopped walking and pulled her into a hug.

"It's okay, Chloe.  I'm scared too.  It's just like if one of …one of our friends can die…then maybe we might die too.  But we just gotta be happy…embrace every moment that we can, when we can.  Live life to the fullest, I guess."

Chloe sniffled.  "When did you start sounding like your Dad?"

Clark shrugged.  "I guess we all have to grow up sometime.''

***

"There she is."  Chloe whispered to Clark.

Lana was sitting in the graveyard, perched between her parents' and Mr. Fordman's graves.

  
She was slumped over in exhaustion.  Her eyes were puffy and red.

Clark still thought she was beautiful.  

He walked over and patted Lana on the shoulder.

"Clark."  She said with a sniffle. "Did you hear about Whitney?"

He nodded.  "Let's go home."

  
She shook her head.  "I….I can't go home…"  She did accept Clark's arm and stand up.

"I could talk to my Dad."  Chloe said from the edge of the graveyard.  "I'm sure he wouldn't mind if you spent the night."

"And Mom would love it if you stayed for dinner…"  Clark added.

"I…I…just don't know…"

"Just let your friends help you out…you're strong Lana, and you can get through this."  

***

_She was in the gym.  It was still decorated for formal.  Lifehouse- the last song that she'd danced to with Whitney was still playing.  She was dressed in her dress- the one she'd bought in Metropolis after Whitney asked her to the formal.  She had never gotten to wear it…had she?_

_"Why so sad, beautiful?"  Whitney walked into the gym, dressed in a tux like he'd worn to prom last year._

_"Whitney!"  She ran to hug him.  _

_"What's wrong?"_

_"You were…dead."  She said, hugging him tighter.  _

_"I'm fine."_

_"I missed you so much."_

_"I love you."  He said, leaning down and giving her a kiss…one of his kisses could make her go weak at the knees._

_"I love you too."_

_They spun around, dancing and twirling.  Her heart beat against her chest. She was happy so happy…Whitney spun her out, and when she turned around…_

_He was gone._

The sound of crying woke her up.  Chloe sat up in her bed. Lana was sitting up on the fold-out cot, tears flowing down her face.  

Chloe rubbed her eyes and reached for her box of Kleenex and tossed it to Lana.

"Thanks."  Lana said with a sniffle.  She paused for a second.  "I just can't believe he's gone."

"You really loved him, didn't you?"

"He was…he was my first boyfriend.  The first guy I ever fell in love with…the first guy that was really interested in me."

Chloe chuckled.  "Let me assure you- that's NOT true."

"Huh?"

"When your best friends are of the male persuasion, you learn way more about the male psyche than you'd ever want to know."

"Really?"

"The FBI considers me dangerous."

Lana laughed.  "I really shouldn't be laughing at a time like this."

"Whitney wouldn't want you to be crying your eyes out all the time either.  He'd want you to get some sleep."

"I dreamed of him."  She said softly.  "It was like…it was like he never left."

"You know, for a jockstrap he was really decent."

"Explain.."

"Let's just say that the majority of the female population at Smallville High was in agreement that he was a hottie.  And everybody was very jealous when he asked you out.  How did that happen, by the way."

Lana smiled, remembering a happier time.  "I'd always known him in a way, you know, I mean, there's only so many people in Smallville."

"Right."

"His Mom came into Nell's shop a lot, getting flowers.  She said that with two men in the house she needed something with a feminine touch.  And I really got to notice him, really, when I made the squad Freshman year.  And then Nell and the Fordmans decided to do a floral display, and Whitney and I were assigned to put it up.  We spent a lot of time together…and the night after we got it all up…he kissed me."

"That is so romantic!"

"Yeah…sixteen years old and done with romance."

"Lana…"

"I just miss him so much, Chloe." 

"I know…I know."  Chloe said, leaning over and giving Lana a hug.  "I didn't know him as well as you did…and I miss him too."

***

_"When we've been there, ten thousand years…bright shining as the sun.._

_We'll have no less days to sing God's praise…then when, we'd first begun.."_

Chloe finished singing the hymn and stepped off the podium, and took her place beside Clark.

Lana flashed her a quick smile of thanks.  The song had been beautiful.  Whitney deserved a beautiful song…he deserved beautiful music…

She couldn't focus on the words of the preacher.  She didn't want to hear about Whitney's life, and how God assured for the afterlife.  She wanted Whitney to be here now.  She wanted God's grace to have the chance to try again.  If Whitney came back, she'd never let him go.  She hold him, and love him, and she'd never let him go.

It was Lex's voice that drew her out of her reverie.

"I didn't get the chance to get to know Whitney very well.  I've only been in Smallville a short time.  Now I regret that I didn't get to know him any better.

I think that Whitney can best be represented in the impact that he made during his eighteen years in Smallville.  From the crowd here today, I can tell that he was loved very much.

I must say that Fordman's  is a department store on par with many of the shops in Metropolis.  For a town of this size, it's amazingly eloquent.  With the tragedies that the Fordmans have endured this year, the quality and the cleanliness of the store never slumped.  Asking around at the store, I found out that this was because of Whitney.  When his father got sick, Whitney responded by working more at the store, taking on responsibilities further than his age.  He did this while playing Baseball and Football, and attempting to graduate from high school.

Whitney left Smallville to join the Marines, to seek a greater destiny.  To serve people that were hurting and in need of protection.  To lay down his own wants and desires- leaving behind his mother and devoted girlfriend to help others.  Whitney left Smallville to be a hero, a real American hero in these times of need.  Yet I believe that each and every person here would believe me when I say that Whitney didn't need to leave Smallville to become a hero.  He already was."

A burst of spontaneous applause sounded as Lex stepped down from the podium.

Then they lowered the casket into the ground.  It was empty.  Whitney's body had never been found—it was now part of the mangled mess of the wreck.  

Ashes to Ashes, dust to dust.

Lana threw a single red rose on top of the casket.  

She then returned to the sidelines, crying and embracing her mother and Mrs. Fordman.

It just hurt so much.

Her heart hurt so much.


End file.
